In a tragic event, the lives of four—a couple and their two—were snuffed out when the first floor of their house caught fire in Dwarka’s Prem Nagar on Tuesday.
The deceased have been identified as Heera Singh (48), his wife Neetu (46), and their two sons Rohin (22) and Lakshay (21).
Reportedly, the main door of the house was locked, leaving the four victims unable to locate the keys to the door amid heavy smoke and causing their deaths due to suffocation. They also tried to break a window near the entrance with an axe, but failed to do so.
Atul Garg, chief of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), said the fire broke out at around 3 a.m., and the family called them around 3:30 a.m., following which two fire tenders were sent to the spot.
“We found that the fire started from the inverter in the house and spread to the sofa on the first floor. The four persons on the first floor had inhaled a lot of smoke. We pulled them out and sent them to RTR Hospital,” Garg said.
A fire official who was at the spot, said, “There was only one entrance to the house. The door was locked from inside. Heera’s body was in the hall while his wife and sons were lying in the bathroom with buckets and towels. We think they were trying to douse the fire by pouring water around them to stave off the smoke.”
Delhi Fire Services Chief Atul Garg said the fire started in the inverter and spread to the sofa. The four victims were declared dead on arrival at Rao Tularam Memorial Hospital.
A senior fire officer said, “Heera’s body was on a mattress, a little away from the bathroom where the other three bodies were found. Prima facie, it seems all four members of the family tried to save themselves by entering the washroom and splashing their faces with water. Simultaneously, Heera tried to rush towards the door to unlock it. He may have tried to reach out for the keys on the wall hanger but failed due to the smoke all around. They eventually collapsed due to asphyxiation.”
According to the officials, lack of ventilation could be the major reason behind the death. “The hall had a small window to which a cooler was attached. The window in one of the rooms had an AC attached to it; hence, there was no ventilation. The attached bathroom, too, had neither ventilation nor an exhaust fan. The second room and the kitchen also did not have any windows, which is why the whole house was filled with fumes from the fire,” an officer said.
According to the details, the house was owned by Heera Singh’s mother, who lived alone on the ground floor, while the families of her two sons lived in separate sections on the first floor.
Heera Singh was a freelance photographer for a spiritual guru in Dwarka; Neetu was a homemaker, Lakshay worked with a private firm in Noida.
48% Rise in Fire Incidents Compared to the Same Period Last Year
According to the data collected by the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), fire has taken 83 lives and wounded over 300 so far this year in the national capital. Reportedly, 16 people were killed in a fire in January, another 16 in February, 12 in March, 4 in April, 7 in May, and 24 until June this year. Reports show a 48% rise in deaths due to fire as compared to the last year.
“The number of fire calls increased to 48 percent this year. According to the data, a total 7,774 calls related to the fire were received from January 1 to June 24 last year, but this year the number has gone up by more than 48 per cent with 12,687 fire related calls during the same period,” an official of the Delhi Fire Services said.
